Hockey World Cup quarter-final – as it happened: Heartbreak for India as Netherlands move to semis

The penalty corner specialist found the net in the last quarter to knock India out of the World Cup

India take on Netherlands in the fourth quarter-final in Bhubaneshwar in the Hockey World Cup.

England face Belgium and Netherlands face Australia in the semi-final. Both matches will be played on December 15.

Praveen Sudevan summaries the events from Bhubaneshwar. Here’s the report.

Surender Kumar is awarded the Man of the Match. Tears in the Indian camp.

India’s wait for a semifinal will extend further after the sloppy decision making on crucial junctures cost them a goals in the first and final quarter. The Indians undoubtedly fought hard but their conversion rate after penetrating the circle once again remained dismal. And it came back to haunt them against the Dutch who were clinical when it mattered.

FULL TIME: India 1 Netherlands 2: It’s all over for India as they could not find the equaliser and Netherlands are through to their 10th semi-final in which they will face Australia while England will take on Belgium in the second semifinal.

59th minute: India 1 Netherlands 2: India are throwing everything they have at the Dutch but the experienced opponents have managed to slow down things and are happy to just push the ball away.

58th minute: India 1 Netherlands 2: Netherlands had a chance to kill this match as they earn a penalty corner and there is no Sreejesh under the bar. But India managed to save the corner and stay alive in the match. But they have just over two minutes to find the equaliser.

57th minute: India 1 Netherlands 2: India have opted for an extra outfield player and have withdrawn Sreejesh as they look for the equaliser.

55th minute: India 1 Netherlands 2: It’s penalty corner for India as Chinglensana does well to keep the ball inside the striking circle and is brought down. But Dutch goalkeeper Blaak comes up with a double save. First stopping the drag flick and then kicking away the reverse hit from Harmanpreet off the rebound.

53th minute: India 1 Netherlands 2: India in more trouble as Amit Rohidas gets a yellow card which means the hosts would have to play with 10 men for the rest of the match.

GOAL: 50th minute: India 1 Netherlands 2: It was an irresponsible tackle from Varun Kumar and Netherlands get their fourth penalty corner of the match. Amit Rohidas, the first runner, leaves the line early and is asked to go out of the goal. And Mink van der Weerden scores with a straight drag flick down the middle.

48th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Simranjeet Singh makes a fantastic run inside the striking circle from the right, dribbling past two defenders but his cross again fails to find any Indian stick and the chance goes begging.

47th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Netherlands thought they had managed to take the lead but Manpreet Singh goes for a video referral for an earlier foul during the build up and his challenge is upheld.

End of third quarter: India 1 Netherlands 1: Netherlands had better ball possession in the third quarter but both the teams struggled with the quality final ball inside the striking circle. The Dutch could also not make the most of any of the three penalty corners they earned in this quarter. Its still 1-1 and everything to play for in the last 15 minutes of regulation play.

41th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: India are down to 10 men for two after Hardik pushes a Dutch player after India had once again loses the ball cheaply and is shown a green card.

38th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: What an opportunity that was for India. Surender Kumar gives a fine aerial pass to Lalit Upadhyay but his cross inside the circle was slightly behind Dilpreet Singh who the lone man inside the circle. The last ball is still a problem.

34th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Netherlands respond by earning their second penalty corner of the match within three minutes of the first and another immediately. But they fail to convert both of them.

33rd minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Things beginning to heat up a bit and some pushing and shoving has also started as India create another chance. But Akashdeep’s reverse hit sails over the cross bar

31th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Netherlands earn their first penalty corner of the match in the very first minute after the restart but their execution was pretty poor and the ball goes out for a long corner.

Here are the statistics for the entire first half as the players take the field for the second half

India clearly had better possession in the second quarter and better pass accuracy but didn’t have anything to show for that in the goals column. Will that change after half time. Would be interesting to hear what Harendra Singh has to say ahead of the remaining 30 minutes of play.

While both the teams are working out strategies for the second half, here is Praveen Sudevan’s report of the third semifinal between Beligum and Germany which were former won with a goal in the last few minutes.

HALF TIME: India 1 Netherlands 1: Nothing much to write home about in the second quarter as the ball was mostly played in the midfield. India came close to taking the lead through Manpreet Singh but the Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak was alert to the threat. Both teams are vary of making any mistakes and have concentrated on maintaining the structure. India would hope to frustrate the Dutch for longer and hope to hit on the counter in the third half.

28th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Netherlands are down to 10 men after Bob de Voogd brings down Surender Kumar just outside the 23-metre line.

28th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: India have started turn on the heat over the Dutch and attacking from both flanks. But the final ball inside the striking circle has been lacking the required quality to make those moves count.

25th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Manpreet almost put India ahead once again but the Dutch custodian finds a way to keep the ball out and Nilakanta Sharma’s shot on the rebound goes wide.

21st minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: Netherlands have been pressing very high in the second quarter and the Indians have been pegged back into their own half for a considerable amount of time in the second quarter.

End of first quarter:India 1 Netherlands 1: India were far from being at their best in the opening quarter but it looked like the hosts would take the honours after Akashdeep scored a goal off a rebound following a penalty corner. But the curse of the final seconds before the break came back to haunt them as they were caught napping and let go of the advantage. Coach Harendra Singh would definitely livid with that goal.

GOAL: 15th minute: India 1 Netherlands 1: India were caught napping with just seconds to go for the first quarter to end and a hopeful shot inside the post was deflected by Netherlands’ attacker Thierry Brinkman and Sreejesh could only get a touch of the stick on the ball but can’t keep the ball out.

GOAL: 12th minute: India 1 Netherlands 0: Harmanpreet earns India’s first penalty corner with a sweep that hits a Dutch defender. His ensuing drag flick was saved well but the goalkeeper could not clear it far and Akashdeep finds the net on the rebound.

11th minute: India 0 Netherlands 0: Simranjeet created India’s first real chance as he dribbled past two defenders to enter the striking circle but then tries to go solo and his reverse hit is off the target.

10th minute: India 0 Netherlands 0: India have been guilty of losing the ball too easily in the midfield. Thankfully for them it hasn’t come to haunt them so far as the defence has stood tall and Netherlands’ only shot at goal was wide of the target.

8th minute: India 0 Netherlands 0: The game is being mostly fought in the midfield with neither of the two goal keepers forced into making any saves. But the teams sticking to their structure and India looking to use the aerial ball to find a way into the Dutch striking circle.

1st minute: India 0 Netherlands 0: Netherlands have been on the offensive from the push back. There is no doubt that it is going to be high intensity encounter with both team constantly pushing for a goal.

6.55 pm: Once known for their contrasting style, India have now been coached by three Dutchmen — Paul Van Ass, Roelant Oltmans and Sjoerd Marjine before Harendra Singh took over the reigns of the national side. So the Indians would be pretty adept to the Dutch style of play by now and had very recently held their opponents to a 1-1 draw in the Champions Trophy group stage earlier this year.

But this a knock out game and only one team is going to progress. The team’s have walked on the pitch and its time for the national anthems.

6.50 pm: There are still 10 minutes to go for the push back but the atmosphere in the Kalinga stadium is already electric. India have never beaten Netherlands in a World Cup encounter and they will have to change that history if they want to make it to the last four stage for the first time since 1975, the year when Ajit Pal Singh’s team went on to win the only title India ever won in the coveted competition.

The only question on everyone’s mind in the stadium is can Manpreet Singh and Company script a new chapter in the history of Indian hockey?

India and Netherlands have struggled with penalty corners in this Hockey World Cup. Praveen Sudevan tries to find out more – READ

India have never beaten Netherlands in a World Cup encounter. Harendra Singh says he is not perturbed by that – READ

Hello and welcome to the live updates of the fourth quarter-final of the Hockey World Cup between India and Netherlands. Harendra Singh’s side have looked good so far, securing their passage to the last eight with relative ease. They hammered South Africa 5-0 in the first match before drawing 2-2 in a tense battle with Belgium. In their final group game, India cruised to a 5-1 win over Canada.

The Dutch were outclassed by Germany 1-4 following their resounding 7-0 win over Malaysia. They have since bounced back, thrashing Pakistan 5-1 and Canada 5-0 in their cross-over match.

The odds, though are stacked against India. The Men in Blue have never defeated the three-time champions in the World Cup. The Dutch, on their part, have a point to prove after being left behind by Australia and Germany, who have accounted for the last four World Cups. Remember, Netherlands won their first final after defeating India. History, though, will take a backseat at the Kalinga Stadium.